> -----Original Message----- > From: Greg Twyford [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, 21 February 2007 9:46 AM > This approach BY HIC is just more evidence of how confused > there thinking and policy implementation about electronic > referrals is. > > If a GP is sending a referral via secure E-mail signed with > his HeSA PKI individual key, as users of Medical Objects are > now doing on the Sunshine Coast and other places, there will > be no paper copy, nor does there need to be. > That's right. As long as they contain the other elements needed for valid referrals under Medicare (such as patient's name, reason for referral, etc.), electronic referrals signed with the doctor's individual digital certificate satisfy the requirements of the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
Apart from investigating outright fraud (that is, where the patient has not in fact been referred), the questions are really about: A) where there is no written referral - this can happen in emergencies, where the referring doctor phones the specialist to refer the patient; B) faxed referrals: does the facsimile of the referring doctor's signature satisfy the Medicare requirements?; C) electronic referrals that are not digitally signed but some of which contain a facsimile of the referring doctor's handwritten signature in the way that a faxed referral does. > On the other hand Ross Davey's E-mail last week, quoted > below, made it clear that Medicare is reducing support to > developers regarding the use of these keys, apparently > outside submitting claims. Well done, Medicare Australia. Oliver Frank, general practitioner 255 North East Road, Hampstead Gardens South Australia 5086 Ph. 08 8261 1355 Fax 08 8266 5149 M 0407 181 683 _______________________________________________ Gpcg_talk mailing list [email protected] http://ozdocit.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpcg_talk
